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Blue Jays
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Blue Jays



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Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata) fighting over territory

Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata) fighting over territory
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cameraCanon EOS 7D Mark II

settings Aperture f/6.3 ISO 2500 Shutter 1/8000 Focal Length 500/1 

upload_dateFeb, 2016

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3388

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11 Comments |
RobinV
 
RobinV April 06, 2016
Great moment you caught here, well done.
kathyk_abq
 
kathyk_abq April 07, 2016
Great shot! Love the detail and soft colors!
andrevondeling
 
andrevondeling May 02, 2016
As far as I am concerned this is the winner of the open wing challenge!
debthompson PRO
 
debthompson May 03, 2016
Congrats! Love the shot!
Beegirl
 
Beegirl September 07, 2016
Very Nice capture
Workshopphotos
 
Workshopphotos April 29, 2017
Fantastic action shot
elizabethyeltuusmcwife
 
elizabethyeltuusmcwife October 13, 2017
Amazing. Plain and simple. So many factors could have gone sideways fast yet not a single one did.
Absolutely Beautiful!
JB11
 
JB11 April 13, 2018
Beautiful
keepclicking
 
keepclicking November 01, 2018
Absolutely awesome
JPART7
 
JPART7 July 06, 2021
WOWZIE! What a capture!
JPART7
 
JPART7 July 06, 2021
WOW! I have BlueJay Challenge right npw.

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Tags

#birds #animals #songbirds #colors #wildlife #nature
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Behind The Lens

Location

I took this photo at one of my favorite bird photography spots - Kensington Metropark Nature Area in South Lyon, Michigan. During the winter months, the place is buzzing with different songbirds.

Time

This image was taken during a snowstorm at around 11:00AM

Lighting

As I previously mentioned, this photo was taken during a snowstorm so, while there was a lot of good ambient light due to everything being white, it was overcast and there was a lot of snow falling so I had to use quite a high exposure setting and a high ISO to capture the birds and show the snow falling at the same time.

Equipment

Camera body used was a Canon 7D Mk II and I used a Sigma APO 150-500mm OS HSM lens. The image was taken hand held. The shutter speed was set to 1/8000 with an aperture of 6.3 while my ISO setting was 3200.

Inspiration

I love watching Blue Jays and their aerobatics while dominating the best feeding spots - they have a lot of character and, despite their bullyish behavior, they are quite beautiful birds. I like to try to capture birds doing dazzling displays of aerobatics and Blue Jays never fail to deliver.

Editing

I used Lightroom CC 2015 to process this image but only to "clean up" by correcting white balance, and removing some of the digital noise from having such high shutter speed and ISO settings.

In my camera bag

I carry just about everything I have in my bag - thus my pack usually weighs in at about 60 pounds or so... I carry 4 lenses - a Macro (Sigma APO 150mm f2.8 Macro), A super telephoto (Sigma APO 150-500mm f5-6.3 OS HSM), and two landscape lenses (Sigma 17-50mm f2.8 and Tamron 10-24mm f4-5.6) because I can never make up my mind what kind of photography I am going to do on any particular day. Additionally, due to the fact that I am a two time stroke survivor and a type 2 diabetic with a hypoglycemic curve (my blood sugar has a tendency to drop quickly), I also carry dehydrated meals, water, snacks and a stove with me along with other "survival gear" just in case I get into trouble while out in the woods - I also carry a Vanguard Auctus tripod with Gimbal head and a Bushhawk shoulder mount.

Feedback

You will need a high shutter speed (or use speedlites with BetterBeamer™ flash extenders), and will likely have to use higher ISO settings in order to "freeze frame" the action when photographing fast moving birds such as Blue Jays - you will also need to be quiet and very, very patient. I suggest using the continuous shooting mode on your camera to get multiple shots (gives a better chance of capturing dazzling displays of aerobatics) and it is also a good idea to study and watch your subjects for a time to see how they behave and also to aid in predicting when they are going to fly away from or come to land on a particular tree stump or branch. Patience is definitely the key.

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